Editorial: Behind the scene after shots fired

The murder-suicide that unfolded on Lafayette's east side on Jan. 10 remains one of the more bizarre crime stories and police chases in recent memory.

By the end of the chase, the suspect and police had exchanged gunfire, a pickup truck tore down a neighborhood street and into an attached garage, and two men were dead.

It also left a large dose of the unsolved, including why a businessman from Brook - about an hour north of Lafayette - wound up in a restaurant parking lot on Indiana 26 East, and why the homeless man the businessman had hired to do painting work shot him.

What isn't in question, at this point, are the actions of police once they arrived on the scene.

A Lafayette Police Department shooting review board was forced into play once Officer Donna Gregorash returned fire on the suspect's pickup truck as he tried to get away from police.

In the past, we've called for departments to bring in outside investigators for police-action shooters. Making an outside review standard practice would add a layer of public confidence in knowing that questions about the use of firearms in the line of duty don't begin and end with fellow officers who have a vested interest in saying the action was justified. We stand by that.

But the trend at LPD to offer detailed looks at the scene - through dashboard cameras, 911 recordings and more - goes a long way toward keeping public trust.

Gregorash was ruled to have acted appropriately. And the evidence presented Wednesday by LPD seemed to back that up.

This was new LPD Chief Pat Flannelly's first big test. Here's hoping he's committed to the same behind-the-scenes view for the public whenever one of his officers is compelled to fire.

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Editorial: Behind the scene after shots fired

The murder-suicide that unfolded on Lafayette's east side on Jan. 10 remains one of the more bizarre crime stories and police chases in recent memory.